The Years of the Word
by xXdreameaterXx
Summary: The Doctor has vowed to never invite a human to travel with him ever again. When he meets Clara Oswald, however, he is tempted. The Doctor decides to stick around, but he will never reveal his secrets to her. But how long will he be able to convince her that he is human? Twelve/Clara AU.
1. Chapter 1

_The Doctor has vowed to never invite a human to travel with him ever again but when he meets Clara Oswald, he is tempted. The Doctor decides to stick around, but he will never reveal his secrets to her. How long will he be able to convince her that he is human. Twelve/Clara AU._

**The Years of the Word**

**Chapter 1**

_21st December 2012_

The Doctor had been lonely for a very long time. Now, after his regeneration, he didn't feel it so much anymore. He had been quite content by himself, travelling alone, with no one to look after. When he got bored of talking to himself, there was always the Paternoster Gang he could visit. He always pretended that it was an accident and that originally he had intended to land on a different planet – but since he was there, he could just as well help with their current case. Yes, everything had been going well until that stupid day in December 2012. That was when he first saw her.

The Doctor had saved the world. Again. In the basement of a first class hotel the Sontarans had installed a teleporter and were about to invade the earth, something the Doctor could prevent at the very last second. He should have stepped back inside his TARDIS then, but there had been a few damaged water pipes. The Doctor went upstairs to the lobby to find the caretaker and inform him about the leaky pipes before they flooded the whole basement. Moments later he found himself in the middle of a party. The stupid, pudding-headed people were celebrating the end of the world that was about to take place today according to a silly superstition. The Doctor knew the world wasn't going to end today. Well, it would have – had the Sontarans succeeded.

With all this. . . _partying_ going on, how was he supposed to find the caretaker?

**OOO**

Clara took another sip from her drink and looked around for her friend but she couldn't find her anyway. Why? Why had she even come here? She hated going to parties, especially when the only reason she had even gone, her friend, had abandoned her 10 minutes after arriving and was now nowhere to be found. Clara imagined all the things she'd rather be doing and that even included doing the laundry. She grabbed her drink tighter and started pushing through the crowd. Even the theme of the party was stupid. She didn't believe the world was going to end tonight and she highly doubted most of the guests did. They just wanted to celebrate _anything_ in the lobby of a classy hotel. Well, at least Clara had booked a room as well so she wouldn't have to go home late at night. In fact, she could just go upstairs right now and pull out the book she had brought from her handbag. She smiled to herself when she thought about how silly it was – booking a room for after a world's end party. If they all really believed the world would end, they wouldn't need a room, would they? Clara sniggered. You had to admire the thoughts of a tipsy brain.

Suddenly a man bumped into her and Clara's drink spilt all over his jacket. Clara took a step backwards, something that only resulted into her bumping into yet another guy.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry," she apologized to the guy behind her, but he was already gone. She turned back to the other man whose shirt was dripping and who just stood there, dumbfounded.

"Oh no, your jacket. Let me help you," she pulled a handkerchief from her purse and started drying the dark fabric.

"Don't worry. It was my fault," he said with a thick Scottish accent. Clara's heart skipped a beat. His voice was making the butterflies in her stomach fly wild. And she loved the accent. She lifted her head to look at him. _Not bad_, she thought. The man was probably in his 50s, a little older than what she usually went for, but she was tipsy, and it was the end of the world. And he _did_ look good.

"Well, you can buy me a new one," she winked at him. Did she just actually wink at him? Oh God, she could use some flirting practice.

"I'm afraid I don't have any money," the stranger replied. She seemed a little scattered and confused.

"Mh," Clara sighed with disappointment. Then she noticed the red lining on the inside of his jacket and smiled at him. "What are you, a magician?"

"Er, no."

Okay, so this was going to be a tough one. "Well, what do you do then? Except bumping into women at parties?"

"I, uhm, travel. A lot," he said, staring at the ceiling of the lobby.

"So are you, like, a captain of a ship? Or a pilot?" Clara asked. She started to get the impression the stranger didn't like her so much.

Finally he smiled, a genuine, joyful smile. "A bit of both. And it's the best ship in the universe."

"Be careful," Clara said, checking him out again. The alcohol was making her braver than she actually was. "I might board it some day."

"I don't think so," the man replied.

"I wasn't talking about the ship."

The man stared at her in utter confusion. Clara decided to take a step back.

"I'm Clara, by the way. Clara Oswald."

"Nice to meet you, Clara Oswald. Though it would have been nice if you hadn't spilt your drink all over me."

Clara laughed, but the strange man didn't. "Okay, so what is your name?"

"Doctor."

"Doctor of what?" she stared at him, raising an eyebrow.

"That is not the question," he leaned towards her and looked her directly into the eyes. It would have been a little frightening, had the situation not been so completely absurd.

"What is the question?" she whispered.

"Who!"

"Who?" Clara replied.

"Doctor."

"What?" now it was her time to be confused. Who was this mad man?

The stranger groaned and threw his hands up. "You don't get it, do you?"

"Actually, no."

**OOO**

The Doctor should have stopped a long time ago. This wasn't right. He shouldn't be talking to her. This woman was obviously flirting with him and he was obviously liking it a bit too much. She was clever and funny, he had known that the second he had bumped into her. And that was the reason he should leave right now. She was his type. She was companion material. And he had to leave before he did something stupid like showing her his TARDIS. He had made a promise. He had promised to never invite a human into his TARDIS again. It never ended well. They all got lost or hurt or worse. Or ended up hurting him. No more of this. No Clara Oswald in the TARDIS.

The Doctor looked at her eyes that screamed bewilderment. She should be scared. She should run, but instead, he was intrigued. Why was it always like that with humans? Why were they always fascinated?

"Well, what _is_ the question?" Clara asked.

"Doctor Who?" he whispered.

"Is that a nickname? Doctor?"

The Doctor frowned. He had never looked at it that way, but she was kind of right. "I guess you could say it is."

At this moment a maintenance crew passed them and the Doctor realized they were heading for the basement. He needed to move his TARDIS. Now.

"I'm sorry, Clara Oswald. You're amazing. But it's always the same with you women," he gave her a pet on the head, turned around and vanished into the crowd, out of her sight.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the review :)

**Chapter 2**

The Doctor fiddled with the buttons on the TARDIS console, saying her name over and over again. Clara, Clara, Clara. . .

He pictured her in this exact room. She would enter, wide-eye, gasping and saying the words he always loved to hear: _it's bigger on the inside_. Then she would run back out and circle the TARDIS in disbelief like they all did. Afterwards she would accept the fact that he was an alien and his offer to take her anywhere in time and space. He would show her the most beautiful places the universe had to offer, and the most dangerous and she would love it. Clara Oswald would love it. And he would love showing her all the things he had seen already but those things always were even more beautiful when there was someone to share them with. But sooner or later there would be danger. There would be a Dalek or a Cyberman or a Weeping Angel and one of those creature would take Clara from him, leaving him shattered and angry again. No, such a thing would not happen to Clara because she would never know, never see, never learn that he was not human. He would never be anything but the strange and eccentric man she had met at a party. The Doctor even doubted if she would remember him a week from now.

He had to leave the hotel basement now but couldn't decide where to go. Okay, time to listen to the subconscious. The Doctor placed his hands on the telepathic interface of the TARDIS and closed his eyes.

**OOO**

_February 1993_

The Doctor stepped outside the TARDIS doors and looked around. He was in a basement again, but a different one. At a different time. He had parked his box close to the elevator that lead him directly to the crowded mall. People with shopping bags were running around, chatting happily with each other. He could hear the clatter of change and a child crying. It was no ordinary, loud crying of a child that was begging their parents to buy them something but quiet and sad.

The Doctor looked around him but could not find the source. Not until he realized he was looking into the completely wrong direction. The little girl was cowering next to a bench, her coat almost completely covering her crouched figure.

The Doctor knelt down next to her, something the child did not notice, and put his hand on her back after some hesitation. The girl flinched and her head shot up. Big, brown eyes, red from crying, stared at him in fright.

"Don't be scared, little one. Where is your Mummy?" the Doctor asked.

The girl sobbed. "I don't know. I can't find her."

The Doctor searched his pockets and handed her a handkerchief only moments later. The girl took it, but didn't use it. Instead, the crying continued.

"Well, where did you last see her?" he inquired.

The child shrugged, so completely terrified that she couldn't even find the courage to make an effort.

"Now, little one, dry your eyes and I'll help you look for your Mummy."

"Mama said not to go with strangers," the girl stared at him as if judging whether she could trust him.

"Wise Mummy. But you're not gonna find her if you stay hidden down there. Come on," he extended his hand and the girl took it reluctantly.

"We will go to the reception and they will call for your Mummy. She will be back with you in less than five minutes, okay? Now, please, cut out the crying and I will buy you some ice cream," the Doctor begged her.

"Really?" she stared at him, her tears almost gone. It was so easy how the mood of a child could change from one moment to the other just because of one little word.

"No, not really. I don't have any money."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "What kind of grown-up doesn't carry money?"

"Me. And probably some homeless people," the Doctor said, smiling at the girl. He usually didn't like children. They annoyed him, especially when they were crying. But this was a clever one and her eyes looked familiar.

They reached the reception a few minutes later and a woman with a stern face stared at him.

"Uhm, hi. This little one has lost her mother," the Doctor explained.

The woman's look changed instantly. It grew warmer as she smiled at the girl. "Aw, poor little thing. Tell me your name and I will call for your mother."

"Clara Oswald," the girl said.

The Doctor turned around to stare at her. Of course. Of course it was Clara Oswald. Damn you, telepathic interface. Damn those big, brown eyes. The TARDIS had lead him straight back to her, her past self, but still Clara Oswald.

"Clara Oswald is looking for her mother and is waiting in the reception area. I repeat, Clara Oswald is looking for her mother and is waiting in the reception area."

The announcement interrupted his thoughts. He was still staring at the little girl.

"Your mum will be here soon," he said with a light smile.

She nodded, but still looked sad.

"You'll be fine?"

"I guess. Ice cream would have been nice."

The Doctor laughed. "Clara Oswald. One day we will meet again. And I will buy you ice cream. On the moon," he added before he could stop himself.

The girl wrinkled her nose. "There is no ice cream on the moon."

He sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"You're odd," Clara said and stared at him.

"Hasn't your Mummy told you not to insult strangers?"

Clara laughed but when her look trailed past him, she appeared to be seeing something that made a wide smile appear on her face. She broke into a run and the Doctor turned around to see her hug a woman that slightly resembled the adult Clara Oswald, her mother. The Doctor thought that this was the perfect moment to make an exit and stepped behind a small crowd of people. He turned around once more to see young Clara point in the direction where he had stood only moments ago, but she didn't see him.

She would see him again, though, one day. And the Doctor would have to bring ice cream.


	3. Chapter 3

_I'm sorry this took so long, but I had to write an essay for university and it was rather time consuming. I'll also be going on holiday to London next week, but I'm pretty positive I'll post another chapter before that. Thank you guys for the awesome reviews and I hope you'll like it._

**Chapter 3**

The Doctor was holding two McFlurrys as he operated the TARDIS buttons. He had promised Clara ice cream and he would keep his promise. He had used the telepathic interface again, trying to find the perfect point in time, but when he stepped out of his TARDIS, things seemed strangely familiar. He walked along the corridors of a hotel for a few minutes until he heard the music coming from the lobby.

He had landed at the world's end party – again. The telepathic interface must have been broken, because this was not where he had planned to find himself again. He wanted to see little Clara, not adult Clara again. He had just turned around to head back to the TARDIS, when a voice behind him called "Doctor?"

**OOO**

She had planned to go up to her hotel room and read when she saw him again. The odd man, carrying ice cream around the hotel corridors.

"Are you lost?" she asked with a smile when he had turned back around. He seemed a little flustered and struggling to find words.

"I, uhm, I was looking for you actually," he finally said, holding up the ice cream, "Apology for making you spill your drink. . . on me."

"McFlurry? What are you? Twelve?" Clara chuckled. He really was odd, but in a very cute way.

"Depends on the way you look at it, yeah. Though people might argue about that," he replied.

Clara didn't fully understand the last bit, but she supposed that a lot of things he said never really made sense. She stopped in front of the door to her hotel room and started looking for her key in her purse. She found it under the book eventually.

"Oscar Wilde," the Doctor read out, "What sort of person brings a book to a party?"

"The sort that is usually bored by 11 o'clock and goes to her room to read," Clara explained, "Come on in."

She gestured for him to follow her, which he did only reluctantly. Clara took off her high heels immediately and sat down on her bed.

"Wow, you're tiny," the Doctor commented.

"Wow, you're nice," she replied with a hint of sarcasm but added a smile quickly.

The Doctor handed her one of the McFlurrys and they both began to eat in awkward silence after he had seated himself on the other bed in the room. When Clara suddenly thought about something, she started to giggle.

"What's funny?" the Doctor asked, a little irritated. She now noticed that he seemed irritated most of the time.

"Nothing, just. You know when they first started selling these," she pointed to the ice cream, "I swore to my mother that I had eaten one years before."

"Oh really? Is that so?"

"Yeah, but clearly I couldn't have."

"No, you couldn't," the Doctor replied but when Clara looked up to him she could've sworn there was the hint of a smile on his lips, as if he knew.

"So, what brings you to a world's end party? You don't seem the type to believe in the apocalypse."

The Doctor licked his plastic spoon clean and said after a pause: "Well, everything ends. Eventually. Even earth. But not tonight. How about you?"

"Got dragged along by a friend," Clara explained, eyeing her ice cream. What had she been thinking? Inviting a stranger to her room? He brought ice cream, but still. He could be a crazy person – and he probably was in one way or another. Or worse, a criminal. He didn't even have a real name.

"I should probably go," the man called the Doctor announced and got up to his feet. Had he been reading her thoughts?

"Will I run into you again?" Clara asked.

"Uhm, probably not. Since, you know, I travel a lot."

Clara rose from the bed and stood awkwardly in front of the Doctor.

"Well, thank you. For the ice cream, I mean. And sorry I spilled my drink on you," she pointed at his shirt and noticed nothing. She couldn't notice anything, because he wasn't wearing the same shirt. He must be staying in the hotel as well and had changed in his room.

"Well, good night," she said and pecked him on the cheek quickly before backing off again. He stood there, even more awkwardly now, looking shocked.

"Yeah, yeah, good night," he stammered as he left her room and closed the door behind him.

Clara wondered for a moment if she should run after him, ask for his number. But she had a feeling that despite him travelling a lot, they would somehow meet again.


	4. Chapter 4

_Yes, yes, I'm continuing this. You thought I had forgotten about this fanfic? Never. I was planning and plotting and it's BACK. Thank you for the reviews. I hope you like._

**Chapter 4**

Clara let herself fall down on the soft bed, but she didn't feel like resting. Her thoughts were circling the idea of the strange Doctor and she tried very hard to ignore the butterflies tormenting her stomach.

"I can't do this," she told herself. He was, after all, much older than herself and Clara had never considered herself a May-December kind of girl. Yet there was something about that man that was utterly fascinating. She wouldn't quite say that she was falling for him, but she wasn't willing to let the feeling go either.

Clara picked up the novel and and began staring at the words. What if he indeed stayed at the hotel? Where had he gotten the ice cream? And why did he seem so familiar? She slammed the book shut again and got out of bed. She'd be damned if she didn't even try.

The lobby was quiet when she entered it. The clock showed that it was already 3 in the morning. So the world hadn't ended after all. A tired looking man at the reception stared at the very last party guests in resentment, a few couples dancing to a slow song, lonely souls drinking at the bar. She walked up to him and decided to just ask.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," she apologized with the sweetest smile she could muster while being utterly nervous, "Could you maybe tell me if a certain party guest has booked a room?"

The hotel employee looked like he wanted to groan, but quickly regained posture. "Sure, if you would tell me his name."

He wasn't stupid, Clara thought. He knew she was looking for a man.

"He only introduced himself as the Doctor," Clara told him, now realizing how stupid it sounded. He probably had a real name, one that he had decided not to give her. Maybe he really disliked her and the ice cream was just his way of apologizing for their earlier encounter.

The man consulted his computer.

"We have five bookings from people with doctor's degrees. Shall I read the names to you?" he asked.

Clara sighed. She couldn't go around the hotel room, knocking on five doors, hoping to find that man. And if Doctor was really just a nickname and not his title, she'd completely make a fool out of herself.

"Or if you're looking for that man over there," the employee said, pointing at someone at the other end of the lobby, "That guy introduced himself as the Doctor, demanding to speak to the head maintenance staff."

Clara turned around there he was, on the far end of the room, talking to who must have been the caretaker of the place.

**OOO**

"If you would just check downstairs, that would be great," the Doctor told the stubborn man, who completely refused to believe him.

"I don't know how to make this clear for you. The pipes are good. What were you doing in the basement anyway? It's off limits for guests."

"Fine, have it your way. I officially declare this not my problem," he groaned and rolled his eyes.

As his gaze wandered the room, he saw the damned woman again. She was standing by the reception, looking at him, smiling. No, this was absolutely not happening, he told himself. What was the problem with those human women? The Doctor had hoped that it would change with this regeneration, that they would cease to be curious about him. After all, he hadn't even showed her his TARDIS. And then it began to dawn on him that Clara wasn't interested in the opportunity of time travel and foreign planets, but in him as a man.

The Doctor didn't realized that the caretaker shook his head and was now walking away, or even that Clara approached him carefully. He stared at her, desperately trying to figure out what to do with a woman like her. It would be so much easier if he could just open his TARDIS door and use his time machine instead of words or human actions. He knew that he should walk away, but he had been lonely for so, so long.

"Hello stranger," she greeted him with a hint of a smile.

"And here I thought you were in bed, reading. Funny how we keep running into each other," the Doctor replied, hoping his insecurity wasn't showing.

Clara Oswald shrugged. "Not much of a coincidence. I came looking for you. I think the bar is still open. Shall we?"

Without saying a word, the Doctor accompanied her to one of the bar stools. They ordered their drinks without speaking to each other.

**OOO**

Clara wasn't entirely sure what her next step should be. So she had found him, but what now?

"Dorian Gray was that boring?" he finally spoke and Clara was grateful that he had been the one to break the ice. The way he said those words, his Scottish accent, his low voice sent shivers to her spine.

"I've read it before," she confessed, the alcohol giving her back some of her usual confidence, "And I decided I better follow Wilde's advice instead of just reading about it."

"And what advice would that be?" he smiled coyly, knowingly. Right now she thought there could just as well be a boy sitting in front of her, not a grown man.

"The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it," she told him. It wasn't simply a quote. It was a confession, and a suggestion.

"I can resist everything but temptation," he finished and Clara wasn't sure whether he meant it, or was just completing the sentence.

Suddenly a thought came to her mind, something she hadn't even bothered to think about until now.

"Are you married?" Clara demanded to know.

She could see that he was taken aback by her question, like it was something he hadn't in a million years expected to hear.

"No, not married," he simply replied.

"Good."

**OOO**

She granted him the warmest smile he had seen in a few hundred years and it melted his hearts. Clara Oswald would never step inside his TARDIS, but she had willingly stormed into his life and he would not give her back any time soon.

The Doctor reached for her hands and took the cocktail glass from her.

"Dance with me."

It wasn't a question, it was a challenge. He was beginning to enjoy this game that Clara Oswald had decided to play. He could never resist a pretty woman, that was his weakness.

"I know that song," she whispered as he put his hand on her waist. She felt real to his touch.

"Fleetwood Mac. Rhiannon. 1976," he explained. The Doctor started moving her around the dance floor, never sure if she even touched the ground.

Clara crossed the remaining distance between the two of them and put her head to his chest, never standing still. He held her tight.

"Would you sleep with me if the world ended tonight?" she asked out of the blue.

"The world isn't ending, Clara," the Doctor explained. He couldn't tell whether they were both extremely good at this game, or extremely bad, or if it didn't even matter at all.

"We could pretend."


	5. Chapter 5

_Thank you for the review :)_

**Chapter 5**

Their bodies seemed to have merged into one, twisting and turning in the hotel room bedsheets, moving to the same rhythm neither of them could hear. It was as if the caresses from his hands or whispers from his mouth never ceased, forever burning in her skin as well as in her mind. She even dreamed about it when a not so gentle knock on the door roused Clara from her sleep. The serenity and peace of last night faded when she found the other side of her bed empty and her head throbbing in pain with a massive hangover. The knocking continued.

"Clara, open up. It's Ruth!" came a female voice from the other side.

It took her a moment to put her thoughts together. Ruth, her friend, who had dragged her to a stupid world's end party. Where she had met the Doctor. _The Doctor. . ._Oh, what had she done?

"Just a second," Clara grabbed the robe and covered her naked figure before she opened the door.

Her friend was smiling at her and Clara hated Ruth just a bit for being such a cheerful, good looking morning person, when she herself was probably looking like hell.

"What time is it?" Clara asked, a yawn escaping her mouth.

"It's 10 am, honey. Time for breakfast!"

The pure thought of it made Clara sick. "I think I'll skip that, thanks. Not feeling so well. I should probably go home."

"What's wrong with you? You look like you've been partying all night. I could have sworn I saw you leave before midnight."

"I went back downstairs. You were already gone," Clara explained.

"Aaaaaaand?" Ruth pressed, her eyes widening, "Clara Oswald, have _you_ met a _man_?"

"Can we please talk about this some other time? I'm really not at my best right now."

Clara turned around and started collecting her clothes from the hotel room floor, throwing them into her bag.

"Oh my stars, you _have_ met a man!" Ruth stormed into the room and closed the door behind her. She let herself fall on the bed and stared at Clara, grinning. Clara tried her best to ignore her friend, but that grin was just too annoying.

"Yes, I met a man and yes, I've slept with him. And I will probably never see him again," the last part was the hardest to admit. Now that it was morning and she was sober, she couldn't understand her own actions anymore. She was not the type to sleep with a random stranger, no matter how attractive and mysterious he might be. But the memories of last night were still fresh, still magical in their own, odd way that she felt her stomach twitch when she thought of the Doctor. Clara had hoped he would be there in the morning, but she hadn't really expected him to be. It was a wonderful one night stand, one she would probably never forget, and she prayed the Doctor would remember her, too.

"Why the hell not? Was it. . . bad?" Ruth wanted to know.

"No, no, no," Clara shook her head, "It wasn't bad. At all. He was very. . . well, he definitely knew what he was doing."

"That doesn't sound very convincing to me," her friend raised an eyebrow.

Clara sighed and sank down on the unmade bed next to her. "Ruth, seriously? I have no idea why I did it. I was drunk and he was so," she was looking for the right word, but couldn't find it."

"Good looking?"

"Good looking, attractive, sexy, mysterious, _Scottish_. And his hair was just perfect. I did what I've never done before. I just went straight for it, you know?" Clara buried her aching head in her hands, "It was so damn good and I don't even know his real name. Why did I do this? That isn't me, I don't just walk up and ask a man if he wants to sleep with me!"

Ruth burst into laughter. "You walked up to him and asked him? Seriously?"

"Well, kind of."

"Ah, Clara, stop thinking about it. You had a great night. You had sex, you did better than me and that was what I actually came here for," Ruth tried to comfort her.

"You're probably right."

**OOO**

"You're a bloody coward!" the Doctor shouted at his own reflection on the TARDIS screen.

There had been no need to leave her like that. He could have waited for her to wake up. He should have waited. Now Clara Oswald probably thought him to be the biggest asshole in the universe. Beautiful, clever, enticing Clara Oswald. The Doctor had never meant to take it that far, but they way she had kept staring at him, the way she had spoken and the way she had moved, they had gotten the better of him. And the loneliness, it had been too long. He hadn't felt this alive in centuries and he was on his way to screwing it up again. But it wasn't too late yet. He could still go back.

His hands worked the switches on the console before he had even made up his mind and the TARDIS landed in a corner of the hotel corridor. It wasn't too far from Clara's room and he rushed over to knock.

"Come in," called a strange female voice from the inside. It wasn't Clara. Her voice he had memorized after the first words she had spoken.

As the Doctor stepped inside, he found another young woman sitting on the bed.

"You're not Clara," he uttered, confused. Was he too late?

"That's right. Who are you?" the bold female wanted to know.

"The . . . Doctor," he replied hesitantly, "I want to speak to Clara."

"Whatever for?"

Gosh, that woman was infuriatingly nosy. "None of your damn business!"

She stared at him for a moment and a flicker of recognition seemed to appear in her eye.

"Clara!" she suddenly called out, "Clara, you naughty girl, move your bum out of the shower. There's a silver fox here for you!"

The woman got up and eyed him further, completing her inspection with a wink. "Well, I'll better leave you two alone. Behave, this is a five-star hotel."

It took Clara only seconds after her friend had left to appear in the bedroom, her hair wet and tangled and only dressed in a rather short towel.

"I apologize for everything my friend said!" she immediately said, a little nervous. Seeing her so jittery reminded him suddenly of why he was here at all and his own hearts began to beat a little faster than usual.

"Have you heard everything?" he asked.

"No, but I know Ruth. There's a lot to apologize for."

"Actually, it's me who should say sorry. I bailed on you this morning, that wasn't. . . how it should have been."

His gaze wandered over her body and stopped at her bare legs. Those legs he had caressed only hours ago and suddenly he was tempted to touch her again, to explore her like she was a newly born star he had never seen before, marvelling at the wonders of her.

"You came back," she simply said. He now realized that she had caught his wandering eyes and must know what he was thinking about.

"I don't know how to deal with a situation like this. I've never been in it before," he confessed with a shrug.

"Neither have I," Clara almost cried out in relief and quickly blurted on, "I don't usually do these kind of things. One night stands. I don't know what's gotten into me last night."

"Do you. . . regret it?" he asked, his own insecurity suddenly showing more than he would like.

"No, absolutely no. Last night was nothing to have regrets over."

The Doctor couldn't keep standing there, listening to the both of them talk about it. It was right and it was also absolutely wrong and he wanted it. He stepped forward, took her head in both his hands and pressed a kiss to her lips. He could feel her hesitation at first, he had probably surprised her, but she got over it rather quickly. It occurred to him that if neither of them usually did one night stands, they shouldn't start now.

**OOO**

"Will I see you again?" Clara asked absent-mindedly as her fingers circled over his bare chest. She felt him take a deep breath beneath her hand.

"I don't know, Clara. I travel a lot," the Doctor replied.

"So you keep saying."

"It doesn't mean that I don't want to see you again. It just means that it might not be that easy, or that often," he explained to her and Clara was about to ask details, but something in his eyes held her back. She felt like he didn't really want to talk about it.

"Just promise me one thing, even if we never see each other again."

"What thing?"

"Remember me," she said simply.


	6. Chapter 6

_Thank you for the reviews :) And I'm sorry this took a bit longer. With all the nervousness about Death In Heaven I didn't really feel in the right mood to write. Hope you enjoy this chapter, though :)_

**Chapter 6**

The Doctor picked up the TARDIS phone after the 20th ring, surprised to find the voice of Madame Vastra on the other end of the line.

"Doctor, have you forgotten about us?" she asked him, an accusatory tone in her voice.

"How could I forget about the great detective?" he asked back, hoping a compliment would calm her down.

Vastra laughed her usual laugh that made everyone feel a little beneath her. Unfortunately for her, it had never worked on the Doctor and he knew his trick to calm her had failed.

"We haven't seen you in ages. Now, I know you're a time traveller, but we are beginning to worry about you."

"I've been busy. I'm still busy. There's a little girl desperately waiting for some ice cream," he explained while setting the TARDIS to young Clara's time frame.

"You found a new companion!" she sounded delighted.

"No, as I've told you before. I'm fine on my own."

That wasn't technically true. He wasn't so fine on his own, otherwise he would have never sought the company of Clara Oswald. But Vastra didn't necessarily need to know about that little incident with the young woman. It was hardly her business. Besides, it would never happen again. He would go back to Clara's childhood years, give her the promised ice cream and then close the book that contained this story.

"Doctor, you may fool Strax and you may fool Jenny, but. . ."

"I really have to go. See you soon. Bye!"

The Doctor hung up. He had melting ice cream to worry about after all.

**OOO**

_March 1993_

He found himself near a playground and spotted Clara Oswald on the swing. And her mother close-by. He had never actually thought about how exactly he was going to walk up to her without looking like a paedophile creep. The Doctor decided to approach her mother first.

"Hello Mrs Oswald," he greeted her with a smile, "You're Clara's mother, right?"

The woman turned around and eyed him with suspicion. The Doctor could see the striking resemblance to the grown up Clara Oswald now, but he could hardly bring that up.

"Yes, I am. Who are you?" the woman asked carefully.

"You probably won't remember me. A few weeks ago when Clara got lost in the mall, I found her and brought her to the reception."

A flicker of relief passed over Ellie Oswald's eyes.

"Oh, right, she told me there was a man who comforted her. Thank you for helping her, she was really scared that day."

"My pleasure. The thing is, I accidentally promised little Clara ice cream that day but I didn't have any money on me, so. . ." he lifted the McFlurry so she could see.

"Aw, you really shouldn't have. Helping her find her way to reception was more than enough," the woman gave him a kind smile.

"Like I said, my pleasure. Do you mind if I give it to her?" he asked.

"No, not at all. She'll be delighted. Clara talked about you a lot after that. You're her hero."

"Ah, I'm hardly that," the Doctor replied, but couldn't hide the smile that spread across his face. He started to think about adult Clara again. She would never see him as any kind of hero, not as long as he kept her away from his TARDIS. And as much as he would love to impress her, sweep her off her feet and carry her through the entire universe, it would never, ever happen.

The Doctor carefully approached Clara on the swing.

"Hey, little one, remember me?" he asked with a smile.

When Clara's eyes widened in surprise, he didn't even need to hear her answer. She had immediately spotted the ice cream he was holding and had jumped off the swing in a matter of seconds.

"Of course I remember you!" little Clara cried out and the Doctor could see her cheeks redden just a little.

"That's good, cause I brought you the ice cream that I promised you. A few weeks late, but it still looks fresh. I think," he stared into the paper bowl, frowning, and it made Clara laugh.

"That ice cream can't be a few weeks old. It would have melted," she told him.

"Clever kid. But for all you know, this ice cream could be from the future. You would never know the difference," he bend down and whispered to her before he handed her the bowl.

Clara began eating it immediately.

The Doctor hadn't even noticed Ellie Oswald approach them until she stood right beside them.

"You haven't even told us your name," she had apparently realized this just now.

The Doctor was about to answer when he stopped to think about it. Clara was as smart as a kid as she was as a woman. If she heard the name _The Doctor_ right now, she would definitely remember. Faces can fade and blur when children grow up, but a name like this would definitely stick. And he didn't really want her to remember _that_ much when he saw her again in her 20s.

"John Smith," he replied simply.

"Well, John Smith, how would you like to join us for dinner?" Ellie Oswald asked, "We live right across the street and I don't know how else to say thank you."

Family dinner with the Oswalds – not what the Doctor had planned, to be honest.

"No, you really don't have to."

"But I want to. And I'm sure Clara would be happy if you joined us. Right, sweetheart?"

The girl nodded eagerly, her mouth too full of ice cream to answer properly.

"I don't want to be a burden," the Doctor was trying hard to find a reason not to go, but none would come to mind. The polite way would be to just accept the invitation.

"You won't be. My husband isn't home for dinner and I prepared way too much food for only Clara and me to eat. You would be doing me a favour, actually."

The Doctor heard himself agree before his mind could follow.

"But I do hope you're a good cook," he added.

"She is. She is the best cook in the world," Clara smiled broadly.


End file.
